Search Fund Internships worth it?
Im starting off my freshman year in college in two weeks. I was recommended by someone at the school Ill be studying, a search fund that hires underclassmen from my school. They offer an off-cycle internship in the fall, that seems appealing to me. I am very interested in applying but I am concerned that itll mess my GPA up. The time commitment is 20 hours, which seems manageable, but I wanted to hear from you guys. Will doing a fall internship in a Search Fund hurt my social life and academics significantly, or is it worth the experience?
anyone?
Is this a joke? Yes you should apply there. If you can't handle a 20 hour/week internship you need to change your career goals. An internship like that during your freshman year will put you ahead of 99% of everyone else for sophmore/junior year recruiting
I meant handle it while transitioning into college classes, but that does make me sound like a whiner so I see your point. I just want to make sure my GPA is A1 right off the bat, but I agree this puts me ahead of the curve. Do you have any opinions on the social impact of freshman year (not that it matters nearly as much, but still something I'm considering)
I disagree - I would give yourself a bit of time to adjust to college coursework (and lifestyle) and come back to the search fund second semester / the summer after your freshman year. Either would still put you ahead of 99% of people
It depends on how hard you worked in HS in my opinion. I needed a period of time to adapt to a heavier workload, but have friends from HS who were grinding hard throughout, and therefore could've handled working 20+ hours at the same time. OP, it depends on what you're comfortable with. You may get overwhelmed also your freshman year is a great time to kill it GPA wise. I would advise following what SFlemming1 said unless you are CONFIDENT you can handle it. If you were to do it your second or third semester in, it would be another story. As of now, I believe you do not fully know what to expect from college, as this was the group most of my friends fell into going into their first semester. Don't overthink it, either way you'll likely be fine. Best of luck.
That's what I thought too. I want to second semester but they have an easy app for fall semester (don't see if they have one for spring) which is making me think this is my only chance. Worst case scenario I could network with the company, knowing they are interested in upaid interns, and try during spring semester?
I 100% recommend it. I worked for one later on in my college career and wish I did it sooner. It is very hands on and allows for top notch networking from brokers to investors. The only downside is most are unpaid due to the limited operating capital. Most search funds are very flexible and willing to work with you since you are unpaid and they need the help. I went to a non-target smaller school and was a student-athlete and interned at the search fund, and I was able to manage everything well. It comes down to how well do you organize your time but I cannot speak highly enough about the search fund experience.
You're spot on, this one is unpaid too. Wow that sounds like a lot on your hand. That's good to hear about your positive views. I'm leaning more toward doing it spring semester, but I'll definitely keep your view during my decision. Thanks for sharing!
That would not be a bad time, spring time was a big time it seems like a lot of action, at least at the fund I was at. The experience is a lot of what you make it though. Ask about their MBA courses and see if they will teach some aspects of them, ask to take on bigger or important projects and tasks. I took a leadership role and learned unbelievable amounts. But like I said I went to a non-target so the experience was eye opening. If you have any questions feel free to reach out.
Is it Search Fund Accelerator?
Search Fund Internship? Thoughts/Experiences? (Originally Posted: 03/24/2018)
I'm a freshman at a target school and am currently searching for summer internships in IB/Private equity. Recently, I have found some unpaid internships at search funds and am just wondering if any of you had experience with these? If so, is it worth it? Do you get to learn a lot of financial modeling and technical expertise or is it mostly looking for contact information on potential acquisitions? Any thoughts and advice would be much appreciated.
Hey BMZCapital, what a lonely thread. I'm here since nobody responded ...so maybe one of these discussions will help:
Or maybe the following pros can chime in... cle_guy18 user21359 tim.johnson.mobile
You're welcome.
Strong freshman experience that'll look good on paper for junior recruiting. Whether you're actually given meaningful tasks will vary depending on the fund so it might be helpful to reach out to previous interns.
I've done one (sophomore year summer) and got a lot out of it. At the time, I was way too naive to know what to look for. Happy to help you determine the quality of the opportunity though. I would ask these questions:
Are you fully funded or an independent sponsor?
Have you done this before?
What is your equity financing strategy (in the event that he or she is independent)?
What will my role be?
Will their be an opportunity to evaluate CIMs? Does he or she utilize brokers and bankers?
I had a very good experience because my searcher genuinely want me to learn and to understand the LMM space with respect to valuation techniques. Had a friend who was strictly cold calling and learned nothing. My MP happened to be backed by a $3 BN FO, so it was a little more legit. Some searchers look for deals as large as 200 MM EV, which would be amazing for any freshman (and many sophomores). The deal we closed was MM. It was still a great way to show interest, to learn a lot, have a great (and relaxing) summer, and gave me something solid to speak to when networking with bankers. Having that on your resume as a freshman could be pretty awesome, but it all depends on the opportunity.
Edit: I would not expect to handle any modeling. It wouldn't be worth the partners time to teach you. Oftentimes MBA interns that work at search funds will be involved in modeling, but the models aren't as important as they are with larger deals. My MP would oftentimes draw out the EBITDA and pick a multiple on a whiteboard for the I.O.Is.
Tremendous experience for you to dip your toes into a type of private equity investing. Though not like traditional PE, where you raise a $100M+ fund to invest/buy 10 companies, you're raising around 10-20M dollars to most likely invest in one company in the LMM. Just knowing how to talk through that in an IB interview is really impressive to these bankers from my experience.
Worked at one for a semester where the principal was a big buffet fan looking to invest in a non-cyclical company that was a good "value" investment. Basically, ran most of the first round bidding process & got on the phone with bankers, brokers, and owners of multiple firms. May or may not be your experience, but a great position to learn in. Don't expect the firm to train you, as alot of these searchfunds function like start-ups. Great platform to really improve your business acumen and "thinking like an investor".
Yeah it's a good idea. Any type of off cycle finance internship like this (especially a buyside role) will give you a leg up in recruiting.
Just take care of courses
Search Fund Internship - Thoughts/Experiences? (Originally Posted: 03/23/2018)
I'm a freshman at a target/semi-target and am currently searching for summer internships in IB/Private equity. Recently, I have found some unpaid internships at search funds and am just wondering if any of you had experience with these? If so, is it worth it? Do you get to learn a lot of financial modeling and technical expertise or is it mostly looking for contact information on potential acquisitions? Any thoughts and advice would be much appreciated.
BMZCapital, bummer your thread hasn't had a response yet. Maybe one of these threads could point you in the right direction:
If we're lucky, the following pros may have something to say: rcarranza David-Buza Brickphone
Hope that helps.
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